No Longer Alone
by shockingblue21
Summary: Marauder Era. Severus Snape is badly shaken up his schoolmates harassment and becomes depressed. When Remus takes pity on him and offers him a chance at friends, support and love - will he accept? Warning: Slash, discipline relationship, contains spanking
1. First Treaty

Disclaimer: This fanverse was created by the brilliant Halo N' Horns, who graciously has allowed me to use it for this fic. Slash: Contains a polyamorous discipline relationship between James, Sirius, Remus and Severus. Warning: This story will contain spanking of teenagers by other teenagers in many chapters, if you don't like it don't read it, cheers.

Chapter 1 - A Fragile Union

Remus sighed as he glanced around the crowded library for a seat. He had tried studying in the rowdy Gryffindor common room, but many of his fellow students had already given up on the semester and were making too much noise for him to concentrate. He had let Sirius and James building a racetrack for chocolate frogs and organizing a house-wide betting tournament. He wished they would take the fifth year examinations more seriously.

Packs of nervous first years and grave seventh years crowded most of the tables, the seventh years nearly hidden by their enormous stacks of books. The first years trying in vain to pronounce spell names correctly. Remus waded through the tables and stacks, passing a sneering Lucius Malfoy who looked far more interested in a pouting Bellatrix than the list of potions ingredients sprawled out in front of him.

Tucked behind a collection of rarely visited Muggle Studies tomes, Remus saw a table with only one person seated at it. He couldn't tell who it was from behind - the person was dressed for winter weather with a thick black cloak and a hat, and though Remus could tell from the broad shoulders and back he was male, he was unable to figure out the person's identity. He shrugged, moving to the other side of the table, his books were growing heavy and he was desperate to start work. The full moon had struck the week before, and had left him exhausted and very behind in his work.

He deposited his bag on the table and starting unloading supplies and books. The boy's head snapped up, and Remus' gaze was met by a huge pair of dark, accusing eyes.

"Do you want me to move?" Severus Snape asked in a small, tired voice.

Remus was somewhat taken aback by the meek tone, and even more so by the earful movement of Snape's eyes as he scanned the library for somewhere else to to go. Remus had barely seen Snape during the last few weeks. He guessed that after Sirius and James had suspended him upside down and stripped him publicly, that Snape had been too mortified to attempt another confrontation.

"No, that's okay. There's just no space." He caught Snape's surprised look as he removed his coat and draped it over the back of his chair, "Just pretend I'm not here."

"Are Black and Potter coming too? Snape asked, and Remus noticed that he had already put the book he was reading back into his patched burlap bag.

"Nope, just me." Remus said. He wondered why Snape was so nervous, he'd been confronting James and Sirius for years. The experience of being stripped in public must have been truly terrible, Remus thought a little guiltily.

Snape seemed to relax a bit, and took the book back out of his bag. He flipped through it quietly and began to make notes on a scrap of parchment.

Remus fished through his own bag, and noticed almost immediately that his Potions book was missing. He hissed angrily remembering that Sirius had borrowed it prior to the full moon. The book was probably stashed somewhere under Sirius' bed, no doubt covered by Quidditch supplies, dirty clothes and old prank gear.

He got up with an exaggerated sigh and began putting on his coat. Snape looked up cautiously and hesitated before asking, "What did you forget?"

"My potions book." Remus said, knotting his scarf angrily.

Snape pulled out his Potions text from his bag and held it out to Remus tentatively, "Here."

Remus stared at him in blatant shock, unable to believe that Snape would actually save him the trip back up to Gryffindor tower. He sat down in his again and took the book from Snape, who leapt back as soon as the book was deposited in Remus' hand, as if afraid Remus' skin would burn him. He removed his hat, letting his greasy hair flop around his chin.

Remus opened the book to the fifth chapter and was instantly astounded. All over the margins and below each ingredient were separate, hand written instructions. A clockwise turn, instructions to puree; everything listed made perfect sense to Remus, but he never would have thought do it. He noted with interest that the notes had been made on every potion in the book, not just those on the syllabus. "Wow." He breathed, flipping over another page, "This is fantastic."

Snape looked somewhat embarrassed and he hid his eyes under his mop of greasy hair, "I just like to experiment."

Remus continued flipping through the text, and then sucked in his breath sharply. The Transfapain potion, the most advanced in the sixth year study was fully annotated with detailed instructions on where to find the required plants. The potion, Remus knew, was very expensive to brew, but it all but eliminated the pain of transformation. "Have you made this? He asked sharply, indicating the page.

Snape looked over and simply nodded.

Remus was struck by a sudden thought, "Snape, have you ever told anyone about, you know, that night in the shrieking shack when Sirius got you to go …"

"No" Snape finally looked him straight in the eye, "Dumbledore told me not to … and Black and Potter would kill me … and I just never wanted to."

"Well, thanks." Remus said. He was pleasantly surprised by how honest and nice Snape was being.

They sat in silence for a while, taking notes until Snape shut his textbook with a decidedly irritated snap. Remus looked up, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, Lupin, mind your business." The snarkiness seemed to be making comeback.

Remus raised his eyebrows in an amused fashion and Snape at least had the grace to flush and mutter, "It's just transfiguration. I don't get it."

"What don't you get?" Remus asked, trying to control a grin. He understood the subject very well and was glad to contribute something in exchange for Snape's potion mastery.

"It's fine … it's not on the syllabus." Snape mumbled, and Remus couldn't help feeling a little crestfallen, "It's about animagus. So not what were supposed to study anyway."

"Oh! I know all about those." Remus blurted. Snape gave him an odd look. They went back to studying in silence. Remus watched Snape quietly as the other boy read through his Charms texts. He looked so miserable and pathetic, with his sad eyes and threadbare clothing, greasy hair and sallow skin. Remus looked down at an especially helpful set of potions annotations and couldn't believe what a bastard he had been to sit around and watch his friends torture Snape.

"Snape, I'm really sorry about how James and Sirius treat you. It's totally out of line and I'll make them stop in the future." He blurted out again.

Huge, shocked dark eyes met his this time, "I … I have to go." Snape said in a small voice.

"What? Well okay…" Remus picked up the potions book and tried to give it back.

Snape shook his head, "I know all of it anyways. You can keep it until after the exam. Just … please give it back and don't let Sirius burn it."

"Thanks! No, it'll be safe."

Snape got up, replaced his hat and gave Remus a little ghost of a smile before dodging back behind the bookshelves.

**

"I don't want you guys to pick on Snape anymore." Remus said as he and the other Marauders.

Sirius head snapped up, "You can't be serious Mooney."

James too look shocked and Peter made a point of looking totally engrossed in his novel. Of the four marauders, Peter was the only one who had chosen not to be part of their discipline relationship. When his friends fought he just tried to stay out of it, knowing that he would just go along with whatever decision was made anyway.

"Please James." Remus said. He spoke directly to James because in their relationship their was a definite hierarchy and although Remus was dominant, he wasn't accustomed to pulling Prongs over his knee like they both did with Sirius, who was regularly a brat and needed to be pushed back in line.

James made a face, "Why Mooney? We've been picking on him for years. And why even bring it up? The little berk hasn't dared to show his face in a month after we stripped him. I don't think he dares to confront us." He smirked over his shoulder at Sirius.

"That's just it, Prongs. He doesn't dare. He scared and along and miserable. I sat next to him today at the library -"

"YOU WHAT!?" Sirius interrupted.

"Be quiet Sirius and let me finish," Remus snapped back, "I sat next to him in the library today because there was nowhere else to sit and he was scared of me, but he was actually really nice and he let me borrow his potions book and I just think you guys should let up because he looks really sad and tries to avoid us."

"He let you borrow his book?" James asked in a perplexed tone, "Why didn't you have your own book?"

"I forgot it in my dorm, but that's not the point."

"I'm not going to be nice to Snivellus." Sirius announced glaring at Remus, "You can't make me."

James ignored Sirius completely when he spoke to Remus, "How upset is he?"

"Really upset, I think, Prongs. I think you guys crossed the line. Look, he gave me his potions book with all these extra notes in it to be helpful … I think he's trying. Can't you just promise to leave him alone? I mean if he comes as hexes you that's one thing … but you guys know you seek him out."

James studied his friend's face and concluded that Mooney was serious and truth be told he had felt a little bad about what he and Sirius had done to Snivellus, especially when it became clear that Snape was too frightened and upset to even attempt retaliation. "Alright Mooney, I'll leave him alone."

"Well I won't." Sirius muttered stubbornly. To his horror, James crossed the room in two quick strides, flipped him onto his side and administered six hard swats to his bottom.

"Oww Prongs." He whined and turned back over to protect his rear from further onslaught.

James fixed Sirius with his sternest expression, " If it means that much to Mooney that you leave Snivellus alone, I expect you to do it, got it?"

Sirius glared mutinously from under his long fringe, "But Prongs I hate him."

Remus raised his eyebrow, "Not as much as he hates you Sirius, I'm sure."


	2. Transgression

Severus hummed contentedly to himself as he mixed his newest potions invention. The concoction was a modified version of the Grease Be Gone solution available in Diagon Alley and he hoped that with a little extra lilac seed and essence of unicorn fetlock the product would finally remove the troubling layer of slime from his scalp. He had tried all of the cheaper products, to no avail, and despite many desperate letters home and summers of begging, his father had never agreed to buy a prescription potion, not caring how his miserly attitude affected his son's self-esteem.

He stirred the potion clockwise and watched as the clear liquid changed hue to iridescent pink. The smell of lilies drifted upwards and Severus inhaled deeply.

As the peaceful scent washed over him, he thought about how tranquil the last week had been. The idiot Gryffindors had not attacked him after class and he had spent most of his evenings in the potions store, working on his creation. His potions book had not been returned however, and he was beginning to feel that lending it to Lupin had not been the brightest of ideas. Why he had trusted his textbook, filled with soon-to-be-patented spells, to a halfwit bully he had no idea. The mistake would not be repeated. He wanted desperately to ask for it back, but wondered if Black would hex him or if Potter would hang him upside down again. After his last experience, he never wanted to confront them again. To be undressed in front everyone, in front of Evans, had been mortifying been words and his sheer powerlessness to stop it unnerving.

He heard footsteps on the stairs of the dungeon and whirled around to see who it was. To his horror, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were descending; Remus clutching his potions book. Severus dropped his stirring wand and moved behind his cauldron. At least, in the dungeon, no one would be there to witness whatever embarrassment Black undoubtedly had planned for him. Lupin looked neutral enough - but he always did.

"Severus, I brought your book back. Thanks again!" Remus said, setting the book down on the mixing table. Sirius looked furious, glaring at Severus from under his long fringe.

"Thanks …" Severus said uncertainly, not moving from behind his cauldron.

"Say thank you 'Sir', Snivelly, and maybe I won't hex you." Sirius spat out.

Remus looked scandalized, "You will do absolutely no such thing Sirius."

Sirius raised an eyebrow and grinned wolfishly at Severus. Despite the few smacks James had given him, he didn't think either of his friends would actually punish him for attacking Snivelly. James hated the bastard just as much as he did, and Remus couldn't like him. He took out his wand and aimed at the Slytherin.

Severus recoiled but he was too slow and Sirius' hex hit him square in the face. His face erupted into painful boils and he grabbed the cauldron edge to steady himself against the pain, tipping his potion onto the floor.

Not wanting to be subjected to any further abuse, Severus turned on his heel and ran out of the dungeon. He raced towards the only place he knew he could get help: Dumbledore. Slughorn, as he always did, would tell him to tough it out or be a Slytherin and attack when their guard was down. The other Slytherins would say the same, even though none of them ever offered to help. Dumbledore never said any of these things, and Severus wanted to try just once more to get Black expelled.

"Sirius!" Remus hissed, "Do you realize what you just did? He's going to go to Dumbledore. You could get expelled. You knew that the forbidden forest episode was your last chance! Why did you do that? Go sit in that chair I'm going to go find Severus. If you move so much as a muscle, I swear I will spank you hard with a hairbrush every night this week. Either way, enjoy sitting for a few minutes, because it's the last time you're going to for the foreseeable future. "

Sirius gasped, "Remus, that's not fair! It wasn't even a serious hex and he didn't have to run away and I didn't think would go tell Dumbledore … I'm sorry!"

Remus glared at him darkly, "You better just hope I can find him." He ran out of the room and tore after Severus.

"Severus!" He yelled, flying up the stairs, "Please, wait. I really want to talk to you. I'm sorry about Sirius. Please just let me talk to you."

He could hear Severus' footsteps slowing on the granite floor ahead of him. Thankfully the Snake didn't run around the grounds or play Quidditch and wasn't as fit as Remus was. He caught up to Severus and said breathlessly, "Please, just here me out. I can tell where you're going. Please don't go to Dumbledore."

Severus turned to Remus and Remus immediately recoiled. His face was covered enormous pustules that kept bursting and sending pus spraying across his cheeks and hooked nose. But even worse than the pustules were the clear wet trails flowing silently down Severus' cheeks. Remus was shocked and for a second, he absolutely hated Sirius.

"Look," Remus said before Severus could even open his mouth, "I know Sirius was totally out of line, and believe me, I agree with you that something has to be done about his behaviour towards you because James has already agreed to stop. But what if we punish him our own way? Would that be enough for you?"

"What way?" Severus asked with a sniffle.

"Well, we have a method …"

"What like not speaking to him for a day? I don't think he'll get it. I'm tired of this. I don't believe James is going to leave me alone. If Dumbledore expels Black, well, then maybe I'll finally get left alone."

"We could let you watch." Remus offered tentatively. Severus looked sceptical but said nothing. Encouraged, Remus continued, "And if you're not … satisfied … that Sirius will leave you alone in the future … then you can go to Dumbledore."

Severus said nothing and regarded Remus sceptically. He had no idea what the Marauders would do to Sirius, but part of him was intrigued. Obviously the brigade was somewhat genius when it came to methods of torture, though he doubted they would subject one of their own to anything truly horrific. Yet, he was seriously tempted by the image of Sirius Black hanging upside down while James Potter threatened him. No, the opportunity was simply too good to pass up.

He cleared his throat, "Yes … I would like that."

Remus simply nodded and beckoned for Severus to follow. He was relieved beyond words, and though he knew Sirius would be mortified, he hoped his friend would eventually realize this was for the best.

I promise the next chapter will not take as long! I've had this ready for a while and not posted it but the next chapter is nearly done and should be posted within the week.


	3. Punishment

Disclaimer: Warning, this chapter will contain the spanking of teenager by another teenager. If this bothers you, please don't read this fic. Once again, this fic contains a polyamorous discipline relationship between teenage boys.

Chapter 3: Punishment

When Severus stepped towards him, Remus noted that the boils on his face, while less inflamed, had not vanished completely. Taking out his wand, he muttered a quick healing spell he had learned to heal his own cuts and bruises during transformation. When he had finished, Severus touched his skin appreciatively and gave Remus a tentative smile.

Back in the dungeon, Sirius stood by the side of the cauldron, twirling his fingers in the remainder of the spilled mixture. He realized that he may have been a little hasty, but, it had been Snivellus after all, and he still couldn't believe that Remus wanted him to stop fighting with their old archenemy.

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, "What did I tell you to do?"

Sirius blanched and stammered, "I didn't go anywhere!"

Severus glanced quickly between the other boys. He was confused, but Sirius was obviously extremely nervous. It was intriguing; he'd never seen this type of interaction between the two Marauders and it fascinated him.

Remus shook his head slowly, "You were already in enough trouble … alright you two, let's go up to Gryffindor tower."

Sirius' eyes widened, "Wha-Why is he coming with us?"

"Severus almost went to Dumbledore. Do you know what that would have meant for you - you're already on about your last strike, Sirius!" Remus said, ignoring the question for the time being.

"I know …" Sirius muttered. He could tell by the look on Remus' face that he was in trouble and he wanted to placate his friend if at all possible.

"Therefore, in order to possibly keep Severus from going to Dumbledore, I have promised him that he could watch James and I punish you."

"NO! You absolutely can't be serious! I WON'T LET YOU. No, absolutely not."

"Sirius," Remus began sternly, "You can either come now and take the punishment I promised you, or I can go find James, and he can do it right here in this dungeon. We both know if I have to find James it will be much worse."

Sirius swallowed hard. He could tell that Remus would definitely do what he threatened, but the idea of getting spanked in front of Snivellus was more than he could bear. Snape, for his part was looking completely engrossed in the situation - bastard. Sirius was sure the git would relish the whole situation; he'd probably be made fun of for months.

"I'll go … but please Remus, don't bring him!"

Remus shook his head, "Not up for discussion, I'm afraid. Let's go."

He gripped Sirius by the wrist and began pulling his friend up the stairs. Sirius followed obediently, but stared at the floor and blinked rapidly as if he was about to burst into tears.

Severus shot one last longing glace towards his spilled potion. It had taken weeks to gather ingredients and book the dungeon space privately. He hoped whatever Remus was planning for Sirius was suitably horrible, though from the scared look on Black's face, he suspected it would be and smirked.

James was seated in the Gryffindor common room alone reading The Daily Prophet and munching on a chocolate frog. The weather was nice and most of his housemates were outdoors for the first time in weeks. He was waiting for Sirius to get back with Remus so they could go flying. He looked up when Remus entered, dragging a very miserable Sirius with him and his mouth dropped a little with Snape clamoured through the portrait hole behind them.

He put the newspaper to the side and bounded over to Remus, "What happened?" He asked, though he suspected looking at Sirius and noting Snape's presence that he already knew.

Remus gave Sirius' arm a little shake, "Why don't you tell James?"

Sirius studied the floor, "I kinda hexed Snivelly."

James exploded and temporarily forgetting Snape's presense, wheeled Sirius around and smacked him hard on his bottom, "After we specifically told you not too? Even though you know you're on the edge with Dumbledore? What were you thinking, you idiot! Well, I guarantee when we are done with you will NEVER even think of doing that again."

Severus could not believe what he was watching. Had James Potter really just smacked Sirius Black? Had he really ordered Black not to hex him again? This news was mind-boggling and even more mind blowing was the fact that Black was now whimpering out apologies to the other two Marauders, who stood glaring at him, hands on hips, looking furious. He watched and followed mutely as James and Remus hauled a very scared looking Sirius up the stairs into their dormitory.

When they arrived, Remus gestured to a four-poster bed positioned along the wall, "You can sit there, Severus. Peter went home for the week."

Severus watched fascinated as Remus sat down on the bed opposite him and dragged a sniffling Black across his lap bottom up.

"Remus …" Sirius whimpered, "Please don't. I won't do it again, I swear."

James handed a large wooden hairbrush to Remus, who took it and placed it beside him on the bed before undoing Sirius trousers and pushing them and his underpants down below his bottom.

"Please …" Sirius wailed, "This is so embarrassing …"

"Should have thought about that before." James said unkindly, sitting down on the bed next to Severus.

Remus sighed and picked up the brush. He could see and feel Sirius tense up as soon as he lifted the implement. Sirius clenching his bottom so tightly Remus could see the muscle outlines in his thighs. He rubbed his friend and lover's back gently to get Sirius to relax, "It'll be okay Padfoot, really. I know it's going to hurt … but James and I really love you and don't want you to get yourself expelled, so we have to do this, okay?"

He didn't want for Sirius to respond, but brought the brush down hard on in the middle of his left butt cheek, eliciting a yelp from the boy his across his lap. He brought the brush down again on the opposite side and heard Sirius gasp.

Remus quickly found a rhythm of spanking each cheek three times, before shifting to the other, moving from the top of Sirius bottom to his sensitive under curves. Sirius wiggled madly and bit his lip to keep himself from crying or begging in front of Snape, who he was sure must be salivating with glee on the bed next to James.

Remus knew that Sirius had probably convinced himself that he would not cry in front of Snape, but he knew for the punishment to be affective and also humiliating enough to placate Severus, Sirius was going to have to make some noise. So he shifted Sirius forward to get better access to his under curves and thighs and brought the brush down as hard as he could on the crease between his left thigh and bright pink butt cheek.

Sirius let out a howl of pain and his hand shot back in a vain attempt to protect his bottom. James got up from the bed and took the offending hand, and pulled it forward out of the way for Remus, who raised the brush and smacked again, just as hard, in exactly the same place. Sirius yelped and squirmed.

As Remus smacked the sit spots hard, alternating after three whacks and then moving the brush down to spank Sirius' thighs.

After Remus landed particularly hard spank to his now bright red bottom, Sirius cried, "Remus … stop, please stop. That hurts so bad … OWW."

Remus ignored his friend and continued to spank in earnest, though he returned to spanking the fullest part of Sirius' bottom. His pant leg was now damp from Sirius' tears and he could hear Sirius begin sob.

"Why are you being spanked, Sirius?" He demanded, resting the brush across the crimson bottom.

"Because … because I hexed Snivelly … enough though you said to leave him alone." Sirius hiccupped.

"That is correct." Remus said, spanking him again on the crease between bottom and thigh. Sirius wailed and tried to wrestle his hands out James' firm grasp. "And you will apologize to Severus, right now."

"No I won't!" Sirius wailed indignantly, thrashing as hard as he could to get off Remus' lap.

"Yes - You - Will - RIGHT NOW!" Remus said forcefully, punctuating every word with a hard smack to Sirius' thighs.

"No!" Sirius practically screamed before sinking his teeth into Remus' leg.

"Sirius!" James exclaimed, "I can't believe you just bit Remus. Say you're sorry, right now."

"He doesn't have too …" said a small voice from the other bed as James, who had lost patience entirely had began whacking Sirius' bottom with his hand while the other boy was still over Remus' knee.

All three Marauders stared at Severus. James and Remus looked surprised and Sirius looked absolutely shocked, his face bright red and streaked with tears.

"I mean it …" Severus trailed off, "If he's not sorry, he doesn't have to say so … and I can see it won't happen anymore, so I won't go to Dumbledore …" He scuffed his toe against the floor. He really couldn't believe how hard Remus had spanked Sirius, the other boy's bottom was a deep red and he could see by the way Sirius was kicking that it had to really sting. It made him feel safer than he had in months to know that the Marauders would hold each other accountable, and that Sirius would not be able to get away with bullying him anymore.

Sirius hid his face in Remus lap. Somehow the knowledge that Snape didn't want to make him apologize was more humbling than being forced to do it, "I'm sorry Snape …" He muttered quietly, sniffing back his tears.

**

If you like this fic and want it to continue, please review  This chapter is for Halo n Horns, who blackmailed me into writing it last night by threatening to withhold one of her fics.


	4. A Truce, of Sorts

Chapter 4 - A Truce, of Sorts.

Severus acknowledged Sirius' apology with a slight nod. His mouth suddenly felt very dry and he didn't feel as victorious as he thought he would. He expected Remus to release Sirius after the admission, but was surprised to see that Sirius was neither released nor did Remus set down the hairbrush. Sirius, for his part was wiggling a little over Remus' knees and shooting furtive glances over his shoulder.

"Severus," Remus said calmly, resting his elbow on Sirius' sore bottom and causing him to yelp, "If you are satisfied that Sirius has been punished, maybe you could see yourself out? Sirius, James and I have to have a talk."

Sirius whimpered at the word "talk". The fact that he was still lying vulnerably across Remus' lap did not bode well. He knew he should not have bitten Remus and James still looked furious that he had disobeyed the instruction to apologize, even though he'd done it in the end. He really hoped that the talk would only involve a couple more swats. His bottom was stinging and throbbing more than he could remember it doing in a very long time. He also felt a little sorry for hexing Severus and ruining his potion and so desperately embarrassed that he just wanted to be hugged and comforted. He briefly entertained a fantasy in which Severus asked Remus to let him up, but quickly reasoned that he'd already been given an overdose of grace from Snape.

Severus made a quick exit, not wanting to overstay his welcome or exhaust his luck. He couldn't believe Black had actually apologized and without extra smacks. He didn't know what he'd said to change Sirius' mind, but he was glad that Black had apologized had somewhat of his own accord.

When the door had closed firmly behind Severus, James looked over at Remus, "Is your arm getting tired? I'll swap with you."

Sirius gulped, "No! Don't swap. I'm sorry Prongs, I said was sorry!"

"Do you realize how dangerous biting a werewolf is? What if you'd broken the skin? You would have been infected!" James snapped as Remus relinquished his grip on Sirius.

"I guess so …" Sirius whimpered as James pulled him over to stand beside him. He thought momentarily about racing for the door, but it was no use resisting with James. Although Sirius was taller, James had more muscle and together with Remus they would easily wrestle him wherever they wanted, "But James, I'm sorry, I didn't think - I won't do it again! I'll remember. You don't need to spank me more, please!" His voice trembled a little and a sob caught in his throat.

Hearing Sirius start to cry again made James soften a little, "Look Padfoot, what you just did was really dangerous … and I have to make sure you won't do it again. You've also been really awful tonight, and we're not quite done."

James gently guided Sirius to lay across the bed and took out his wand, tapped it to the brush and transfigured a swishy willow switch. He snapped it experimentally through the air and Sirius, hearing the noise, began to cry and beg, "No, Prongs … don't switch me! Please, please don't switch me. Remus already spanked me really hard, please I'm sorry!"

"You haven't left me a choice, Sirius." James said sadly, he pinned Sirius' back with his right hand and raised the switch with his left.

He brought it down swiftly and a line formed immediately across the middle of Sirius' bottom. Sirius howled and bucked so hard against James' hold that he nearly fell off the bed. Remus grabbed Sirius by the wrists.

James brought the switch down again, lower down on the wriggling posterior, he knew Sirius was already on the edge of his breaking point from the hairbrush, but he wanted to make sure his lover felt this for a few days when he sat down. He continued to rain blows on Sirius' helpless thighs and bottom until welts began to raise under the faint purple lines.

Sirius laid over the bed and sobbed, his hands gripping the sheet as tightly as he could. He was sure he would never be able to sit down again and knew that Snape would spread what he had seen all over the school so everyone would know in class why he was squirming in his seat and the usual lie of Quidditch practice wouldn't substantiate. He hoped that James and Remus wouldn't still be angry when this was over, because all he wanted was to lay in bed (bottom up of course) with James strong arm around him while Remus rubbed his hair and back and comforted him.

James put the switch aside and pulled Sirius up off the bed and manoeuvred him to stand between his legs. He jack-knifed his distressed lover over his left knee and landed a smack with his palm right across the crack of Sirius' bottom, "Now, are you ever going to hex Severus again?"

"Noo!" Sirius choked out, "No, won't - swear."

He brought his hand down hard again on the left thigh, "And are you ever going to bite a werewolf again, ever?"

"Never again …" Sirius sobbed.

"Good." James said firmly administering five smacks more across Sirius' bright red and crimson striped behind. He pulled Sirius up off his lap - it never ceased to amaze him how limp and malleable Sirius became after he'd been spanked hard - and drew him into a tight hug, "Really Padfoot, I care about you way too much to let you get yourself expelled or turned into a werewolf."

Remus slid over and hugged Sirius from behind, "I love you too Sirius."

Sirius buried his head in James comfortable shoulder and just cried, enjoying the hug too much to bother pulling up his trousers and pants. Remus had begun to massage his scalp gently and James arms felt so good and strong.

Remus slid back a little and gently tugged Sirius' pants and trousers down his legs, "Lift your left foot, now right." He instructed gently, sliding the garments off.

James tugged off Sirius shirt and gently wiped tears off his friend's cheeks before pulling back Sirius' covers and fluffing his pillow for him. Sirius slid into bed to the far side and James slid in after him. Remus crawled in on the other side and Sirius lay between them. Remus gently rubbed Sirius' back as James stroked his head. Sirius cried out the rest of his tears into his pillow, enjoying the gentle ministrations after so much painful attention.

James began to nibble affectionately on Sirius' ear and he felt Sirius cuddle into his chest and sigh. Remus grinned over Sirius' back at James and then mouthed, "Exam tomorrow - magical history - going to bed." He slid out from under Sirius' covers and wandered back to his own bed.

Sirius gave a sleepy little moan as Remus slid out of the bed and snuggled even tighter to James, before closing his eyes and relaxing against his pillow.

O0o0o0o0o0ooo

The next day in potions, Sirius squirmed in his seat and tried hard not to look across the room at Severus. His bottom was still extremely sore and even though James and Remus had been extra nice to him that morning - James had woken him up with kisses and a back rub and Remus had made him hot chocolate - he was still so embarrassed at having been spanked in front of Snape. Just the thought was enough to make him flush deep red all the way to the roots of his hair. He ducked his head under the desk and began searching furiously through his bag for an ingredient.

Severus noticed how Sirius seemed unable to sit still on his chair and smirked a little. He'd felt sorry for Black the night before when he'd been balling, but now that he was back in potions, reminded of the brew he had lost to the idiot's bullying, he was glad that Black was suffering. Part of him wanted to get up, stand on his chair and announce to the class what had happened, but that part was stifled by the logical part of his brain that argued his new found security was better than causing Black further embarrassment, even as satisfying and poetically just as that would be.

Remus had been watching Severus throughout the class as well. He wanted to be sure Severus wasn't talking about the evening before with classmates or speaking in hushed whispers. So far, he could detect nothing but normal, studious behaviour from the Slytherin, even though he noted the text Severus was pouring over was not the prescribed book.

"Padfoot, I think you should offer to replace the ingredients for that potion you ruined." Remus said, "They might have been expensive. We don't know what it was."

Sirius nodded mutely and gnawed on his lip, "Can you ask him if he wants them replaced and I'll just pay?"

"No," Remus said firmly, "You should ask him."

"What if you ask but I go with?"

"No. Don't argue with me, Sirius. Ask him after class."

James leaned over, "I'll go with you, but you have to talk, okay?"

Sirius pouted slightly, "But James, I'm so embarrassed…"

"I know Sirius, but you have to do it. It'll just take a minute and we can go to

Hogsmede this weekend to find all the ingredients."

Sirius scowled and said nothing.

James grinned and punched him lightly on the arm, "And hey, aren't you interested to see what Snivelly was brewing anyway?"

"Don't call him that." Remus said as he emptied a packet of shrivelled newt tail into their cauldron. James winked conspiratorially at Sirius.

After the class ended, Sirius packed his books up more slowly than he ever had. All the students had filed out of the classroom and Slughorn had run off to work on his latest invention. Sirius made a neat pile of his materials, shuffled them together and began arranging his quills by height across the table.

Remus smacked him hard, "Let's go Sirius, you usually just throw your things in your bag as fast as possible. I know you don't want to talk to Severus, but you have to, and we might as well get it over with before he goes to lunch."

Sirius' hand flew back to protect his bottom. Even over robs and trousers, after the spanking he'd received, it still stung.

James ruffled Sirius' hair affectionately, "Come on, let's just go. Mooney - go and save us a seat in the hall?"

"Sure," Remus said, and headed off in down the corridor.

James put his arm firmly around Sirius' shoulders and directed him down the opposite hall towards the Slytherin dungeon. He knew from his bullying of Snivellus, that Snape always went and put his belongings back in Slytherin before heading to meals, so they were sure to run into him in the hall. Sirius walked with him reluctantly, hoping that for once Snape might have changed his routine.

Severus came scrambling down the hall a moment later, his head ducked and charging at a fast clip. Sirius had never noticed before how defensive his posture was when he walked; it seemed like Snape's whole body was trying to curl into a giant ball. His arms were crammed against his chest and his lips were twitching as if he were engaged in a bitter inner dialogue.

As he approached, Severus couldn't help sneering at Black. He was feeling more confident now than he had in weeks and genuinely wanted to embarrass Black, if only subtly. He wasn't stupid enough to risk his newfound peace of mind. He grinned outright when Sirius bit his lip and flushed.

James prodded Sirius in the side and Sirius called, "Snape … umm … wait … please?"

Severus stopped abruptly, "Amazing how you suddenly have manners, Black." He said snidely. James glared and Severus took a step back, a little of his newfound bravado wavering, "What do you want?"

"Umm …" Sirius stammered, looking at James for support, "Well … I just wanted to know if I could, maybe, if you wanted, replace the ingredients for the potion …"

Severus stared at Sirius, "What?"

"We could go this weekend." James cut in, "Just tell us what you need. Sirius will pay."

"I'm not telling you what I need!" Severus erupted, "Just give me five galleons and I'll replace it myself."

"Umm okay …" Sirius said and drew his purse out of his robe. He counted out five golden coins and held them out to Severus, whose jaw had dropped.

"You just, walk around with that kind of money?"

"It's not that much …" Sirius said. Severus looked at the floor and Sirius for the first time realized how insensitive he often was with money issues, "Well I guess it is … I just … feel bad about your potion."

"Well it was very difficult to brew. Takes weeks to collect everything - some of it you can only get by mail order you know and then you have to let it set and everything … it's a very precise potion." Severus drew himself a bit, "Slughorn said he was impressed I could even contemplate doing it."

Sirius, by now, felt decidedly guilty and couldn't believe he had thought hexing Severus out of the blue like that could ever have gone well, "I'm sorry …" He muttered in a small voice, "but Remus says you're really good at potions … so it'll be okay, right?"

"Yeah …" Severus said, placated by the unexpected compliment, "Eventually."

"Could I just … buy you the potion?" Sirius asked.

Severus immediately became defensive again, "No, because then I'd have to tell you what it was … and I won't, because it's private and you'd tell everyone or even if you didn't tell everyone you'd just use it as leverage to tease me. I'm not stupid, Black, so if you think you're going to gain some confidential information you can just bugger off."

"Are you serious?" Sirius demanded with a raised eyebrow, "You think that after what you witnessed, I would say anything about your special potion. Believe me, however embarrassing you think this potion is, admitting what is cannot be anywhere near as mortifying as what you saw, and if it's going to take weeks, I'd rather just buy it for you … especially if it's important."

"If you say anything," Severus said stepping forward and raising on his toes so that his eyes were even with Black's, "I swear I will tell the entire school … I will scream it in the hall during Christmas lunch … I swear I'll mention it in every class we have together -"

"Don't!" Sirius said urgently. He would die, actually die, if Snape ever repeated what he had seen to anyone. Though he would be sure to kill Remus first in the most painful way he could imagine. He wondered if it was possible to switch someone to death.

"Enough Snape." James said curtly, "We get it. We will not repeat."

"Fine …" Severus said in a hushed whisper, "It's for my hair … to make it not greasy."

"Really?" Sirius asked, "I never thought you actually recognized that your hair was greasy."

Severus flushed, "Of course I do, there just isn't anything I could do about it. Unlike your family, Black, my family doesn't have to throw away, and even if we did, my father would never agree to squander it on hair products."

"Well the best ones have prescriptions," Sirius began knowledgably, "You have to go to a healer and they will assess your hair and skin type and then give you a pack to take to the apothecary."

"How do you know this?"

"Regalus had some trouble with greasy hair when he was 11 or so … we got it taken care of. It's not something you have to be embarrassed about if you wash it and try … I always just thought you didn't wash it."

"I do!"

"Okay … you do. Umm, well, when you've scheduled an appointment with Madame Pomfrey and got your prescription, do you just want to let me know how much it costs?"

"Yeah okay," Severus said, and abruptly walked away.

James hugged Sirius around the shoulders with one arm, "I'm really proud of you how you handled that. It wasn't so bad, was it?"

"No …" Sirius admitted, "But James what if he tells the whole school what he saw? I'll die."

"He won't." James said darkly, "He's still scared of us, I can tell. And really Padfoot, who would believe him if he did tell? I'd deny it, wouldn't you?"

***

So another update this week, I'm on a roll. This one may be the last one for a little while … we'll see.


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